Sep 1, 2026 · 42 min · 11 segments
Send us Fan Mail Have you ever planned a quiet, restorative weekend only to have your mind instantly hijacked by restlessness, dread, or…
Hilary CrowleyHost
You familiar with the amygdala? It's the primary part built inside of our brain named after, amygdala is named after the almond, meaning it's shaped like an almond.
And the primitive amygdala is actually built for survival, not enjoyment, okay? So it's a major, major part of who we are and how we get through our day.
And one of the very important evolutionary elements in who we are as humans, I like to think of the amygdala that it helps us learn because it gathers, gathers, gathers, and says, we're going to stay safe from this.
So the amygdala, get familiar with the amygdala, does not understand as letting your guard down as just being like, oh, this is so good for my health because it is good for your health and relaxation and wellness and stress relief.
And the work that I do with energy healing, especially when I do it in a medical setting where I'm an energy healer and I oftentimes will ask the doctor or the surgeon who said, this person, could you help this person? And I'll say, well, in a non-medical way, because I'm not a medical provider, why would you recommend this? And they always say, can you help them experience deep peace? Can you help them alleviate stress? Can you help them embody a sense of wellness? Well, your amygdala will say no, but I've been working with the amygdala for a while for myself and for all of my clients.
It's saying, I'm not letting my guard down for you because I'm When I feel that I've let the guard down, then I'm afraid that you're going to be attacked by predators.
So that hyper, hyper vigilance is just one small part of who we are, but it's the amygdala.
And when any external chaos drops away, so the amygdala doesn't have to work anymore, the brain's vigilance network just interprets the quiet as a lack of defense.
So it triggers even more anxiety to force you into what's called the alert mode.
But speaking personally, I know that I call it loving my work because I do love my work.
But I have noticed that when I don't have a lot of stimulus or outside activity, I could call it chaos, but it's not really chaos.
It's just a lot of ideas coming at me and a lot of pressures on me and productivity and this whole thing.
When that all drops away because I'm away on a ski vacation or I've got nothing to do except to just relax, restore, rest, renew, all of that, I actually notice I get more anxious.
Does anyone else ever experience that? That has to do with your amygdala that says, wait, why are you calm? Are there predators around? You should be looking for something.
And then in this world where we have 24-7, 365, access to getting vigilant, like being able to get more news, more information, what's the latest, what's going to entertain us.
You familiar with the amygdala? It's the primary part built inside of our brain named after, amygdala is named after the almond, meaning it's shaped like an almond.
And the primitive amygdala is actually built for survival, not enjoyment, okay? So it's a major, major part of who we are and how we get through our day.
And one of the very important evolutionary elements in who we are as humans, I like to think of the amygdala that it helps us learn because it gathers, gathers, gathers, and says, we're going to stay safe from this.
So the amygdala, get familiar with the amygdala, does not understand as letting your guard down as just being like, oh, this is so good for my health because it is good for your health and relaxation and wellness and stress relief.
And the work that I do with energy healing, especially when I do it in a medical setting where I'm an energy healer and I oftentimes will ask the doctor or the surgeon who said, this person, could you help this person? And I'll say, well, in a non-medical way, because I'm not a medical provider, why would you recommend this? And they always say, can you help them experience deep peace? Can you help them alleviate stress? Can you help them embody a sense of wellness? Well, your amygdala will say no, but I've been working with the amygdala for a while for myself and for all of my clients.
It's saying, I'm not letting my guard down for you because I'm When I feel that I've let the guard down, then I'm afraid that you're going to be attacked by predators.
So that hyper, hyper vigilance is just one small part of who we are, but it's the amygdala.
And when any external chaos drops away, so the amygdala doesn't have to work anymore, the brain's vigilance network just interprets the quiet as a lack of defense.
So it triggers even more anxiety to force you into what's called the alert mode.
But speaking personally, I know that I call it loving my work because I do love my work.
But I have noticed that when I don't have a lot of stimulus or outside activity, I could call it chaos, but it's not really chaos.
It's just a lot of ideas coming at me and a lot of pressures on me and productivity and this whole thing.
When that all drops away because I'm away on a ski vacation or I've got nothing to do except to just relax, restore, rest, renew, all of that, I actually notice I get more anxious.
Does anyone else ever experience that? That has to do with your amygdala that says, wait, why are you calm? Are there predators around? You should be looking for something.
And then in this world where we have 24-7, 365, access to getting vigilant, like being able to get more news, more information, what's the latest, what's going to entertain us.
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